I researched and tested some of the best budget soundbars in 2023 in order to find the best one, such as the Sony HTS 100f which has impressive sound quality, a good overall user experience, and an affordable price.
The only problem is that the Sony HTS 100f isn’t perfect for everyone, and if you don’t know some specific things to look for, you could end up with a soundbar that won’t work well for you.
That’s why I made sure to include options for all types of people. So, regardless of what you intend on using it for, I’ll have the best budget soundbars in 2023 for you. I’ll also have links to the best and most up-to-date prices on all the products I mentioned in this article.
Sony HT-S100F
Not everyone has hundreds of dollars to spend on a high-end sound bar, and the Sony HTS 100f is a much more affordable alternative that offers an impressive max volume, solid build quality, and a reasonably wide sound stage with good sound. Despite its reasonable price, it has a sturdy, robust build that should be able to hold up over time and withstand long-term use.
It comes with built-in Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity for your wireless devices and a USB port to play music or locally streamed media. However, anyone looking for a sound bar that can integrate with smart home ecosystems would likely prefer a model like the Bose Smart Soundbar 300, which I’ll mention later.
Furthermore, you get solid connectivity options on the back, including HDMI ARC and Optical input with Dolby Digital, Dolby Dual Mono, and LPCM 2 channel support. On the inside, you get two sets of tweeters, two racetrack drivers, and a base-enhancing reflex speaker on the rear that can deliver up to 120 watts of output while retaining clarity at higher volumes.
Overall, it delivers a surprisingly powerful sound with solid balance, good width for sound effects, and a wide sound stage to help keep you immersed. You also get three sound modes, including a standard mode, a cinema mode with s-force front surround technology, and a music mode, along with settings to enhance dialogue, a night mode, and Dolby dynamic range control to improve the dynamic performance.
The Sony HTS 100f is an affordable alternative that still comes with a surprisingly robust build, a range of connectivity options to support your home entertainment setup, and a powerful sound with solid technology to deliver clear, crisp audio even at higher volumes.
If you want a cost-effective budget sound bar that can still deliver a reasonably immersive listening experience, this is a great choice.
Bose Solo 5
Next up, I have another cost-effective soundbar that offers impressive all-around performance and a solid number of features to keep you focused and immersed. The Bose Solo 5 is an effective budget soundbar that performs well for the price.
Bose has a few solid sound bars and speakers to choose from, and their Bose Solo 5 Soundbar comes with a dialogue-enhancing feature to ensure you don’t miss a word, decent bass, and a user-friendly setup process.
It has a simple all-black design that should fit with most other decor, or it can also be mounted on the wall if you want to save some shelf space.
It offers a range of useful connectivity options, including Optical, coaxial, and auxiliary inputs depending on your needs, along with built-in Bluetooth to wirelessly stream your favorite music. I also like that it’s incredibly intuitive to set up and only requires one cable, so you can just plug it in and automatically boost your TV speaker’s sound quality even more.
It has a universal remote to control playback, adjust the volume, switch inputs, and control the low-end response to find the sweet spot for what you’re listening to. It offers impressive sound
The article offers impressive sound quality with plenty of bass for music or blockbuster films, crisp treble, and warm direct mids that can deliver surprisingly rich soundtracks. However, it lacks an adjustable EQ and has a relatively narrow sound field. So, anyone with a larger living room might prefer an option like the Vizio v21h8, which I’ll mention next.
It also comes with a dialogue mode that adds extra clarity and detail to every word, an auto shut-off function to conserve power, and more. The Bose Solo 5 is a solid choice that does a lot of things well for a good price.
It offers plug-and-play functionality into almost any entertainment setup, a useful dialogue-enhancing mode, good build quality, and enough power to fill smaller rooms with quality sound. This is an ideal choice if you want the best budget soundbars in 2023 that can nail the basics and perform well in a bedroom or small apartment.
Vizio V21-H8
Most people might be looking for an affordable soundbar that’s easy to use, easy to set up, and can reliably produce immersive audio when watching content or listening to music. The Vizio v21h8 checks these boxes, and it’s my choice as the best budget soundbar in 2023 for most people.
The Vizio v21h8 is a solid all-around soundbar that doesn’t cost too much, and it comes with several audio input options for your setup, an intuitive remote control, and excellent sound quality with true surround sound support.
It has a nondescript and unobtrusive design that won’t draw much attention when placed under your TV, and you get intuitive controls along the top to control the power input, Bluetooth pairing, and volume.
You get a surprising number of inputs on the back, including an HDMI input, an optical digital audio in, a USB port, and a 3.5-millimeter AUX input. And while it doesn’t have built-in voice assistant support, it has an AUX VA input to connect an Alexa or Google Assistant speaker.
It also comes with an intuitive remote with the standard control buttons to adjust the sound and buttons to enable additional sound modes. It has three full-range speakers and a 5-inch wireless subwoofer that can deliver a surprisingly powerful sound to deliver an immersive listening experience each time.
It delivers solid overall sound and produces clear voices, mid-tones, solid mids to fill in the blanks, and a powerful low-end response, though the bass can sound a bit muddy or overpowering at times.
In contrast to cheaper models like the Sony HTS 100f, which I mentioned, it comes with Dolby DTS virtual X spatial audio support to produce a broader and more immersive soundstage along with true volume to balance the sound.
The Vizio v21h8 is an excellent and affordable soundbar that offers ample connectivity options, built-in spatial audio support to deliver an encompassing experience, and solid internal components that produce a clear, detailed, and crisp sound in most situations.
Sonos Beam Gen 2
If you’re looking for a budget soundbar that can routinely deliver powerful and high-quality sound, this is an ideal option. If you’re looking for an affordable soundbar that offers the best combination of modern wireless features, build quality, and all-around sound quality, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is my choice as the best overall budget soundbar in 2023.
With its built-in technology that supports wireless streaming, feature-rich companion app to control your audio, and quality components that can routinely deliver an immersive and accurate listening experience, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a great choice for almost any entertainment setup. It has a compact and minimalistic design that won’t take up much space, which makes it a good choice for smaller TVs or setups, and you can get it in either black or white to match your other home decor.
It’s surprisingly well-made and comes with a sturdy polycarbonate grille to protect the internal components and maintain performance over time. You get an HDMI port with eARC and an Ethernet port for wired connections, along with built-in Wi-Fi, Apple AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect support to wirelessly stream media from your other devices, and Alexa or Google Assistant support for hands-free control.
Under the hood, you get four front-facing elliptical midwoofers, three passive bass radiators, and an improved center tweeter, which delivers a surprisingly powerful, detailed, and refined sound profile that’s ideal for almost any audio content.
I like that it’s compatible with the Sonos S2 app so you can easily adjust the sound to your liking, enable different sound modes, pair additional Sonos speakers, or enable the true tone function to optimize the audio output based on your acoustic environment.
In addition, it comes with Dolby Atmos support and excellent surround sound performance to add a significant sense of motion, depth, directionality, and space to your favorite media. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a high-quality soundbar and, despite its reasonable price, it offers excellent modern features to keep you connected and entertained, excellent surround sound performance, and consistently clear, immersive, and detailed sonic performance.
This is an excellent choice if you want an easy-to-use budget soundbar that consistently delivers crisp audio.
Bose Smart Soundbar 300
Finally, I have a powerful soundbar that offers a sleek design, several modern features that support wireless playback and pairing, and an excellent price-to-performance ratio. The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 is a great choice if you want detailed audio.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 is a quality option that’s available for a good price, and it comes with several smart features for wireless control over your sound, an impressive maximum output, and a versatile sound that performs well with almost all audio content.
It has a minimalistic design with an all-black aesthetic that’s easy to hide and a low-profile shape that allows for solid placement flexibility. It’s well-made and features a button-free exterior with a wraparound metal grille to protect the insides and LED lights that show the speaker’s current status.
On the back, you get an HDMI input with Arc and optical input, an Ethernet port, and a subwoofer output to connect your entertainment setup. In addition, you get several integrated smart features such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, Apple AirPlay 2 for wireless streaming, and more.
It has five full-range drivers that can reliably produce a powerful and room-filling sound that maintains clarity and detail at higher volumes, so it’s a solid choice for everything from watching movies to gaming.
Though the low-end response isn’t the most powerful, it delivers a solid sound profile with plenty of warmth, pristine quality with dialogue-heavy content, and a wider and more natural soundstage than cheaper models like the previously mentioned Sony HTS 100F.
It’s also compatible with the relatively simple Bose Music app, which lets you group other Bose speakers, adjust the bass, switch audio sources, and more.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 is an impressive modern soundbar that features advanced connectivity options for your modern devices, a user-friendly companion app, and consistently high-quality sound that can help make your favorite content pop each time.
If you want an easy-to-use and budget-friendly soundbar with plenty of modern features and good all-around performance, this is a great choice.
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